


It's time we danced with the truth

by NurseRatched



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood Is So Done, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Poor Alec, Protectiveness, Sassy Isabelle Lightwood, Sassy Magnus Bane, Sleepy Alec Lightwood, Sweet Alec Lightwood, okay?, they're doing their best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-25 18:05:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19750978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NurseRatched/pseuds/NurseRatched
Summary: "Antonio" Magnus replied, "Could you please avoid bleeding out in the kitchen? It's rather unsanitary."Alec glared at Magnus. "I wasn't trying to" He growled, but Magnus was right, bodily fluid did not belong in the kitchen. Alec took a step towards the doorway. Black spots danced across his vision and his knees gave way."Idiot" Magnus said catching Alec by the waist, before he could crash to the ground, "It was a joke. Your welcome to bleed out wherever you like, who am I to judge."Alec froze, Magnus's fingers were like tendrils of fire on Alec's skin, sending jolts of electricity up Alec's spine. For a second, Alec leaned into the touch, wanting more, before realizing what he was doing. His face flushed with shame. "Don't touch me" he snapped, almost instinctively."To pure to be tainted by a dirty downworlder?" Magnus asked, immediately letting Alec go, and watching with a smirk as Alec fell to the ground with a very undignified yelp.





	1. Bleeding out in the kitchen

<p

"Izzy, I don't care how hot he is IF HE'S A WANTED CRIMINAL, HE'S OFF LIMITS!" Alec shouted into his cell phone, exhaling with exasperation as he kicked off his shoes and tossed his seraph blade on the counter

"Awww" Isabelle's whine came over the phone, "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't his fault!"

"Izzy" He said warningly, "I spent all night clearing a nest of Demons, I am running on caffeine and adrenaline at this point- Don't push me,"

"Fine" Izzy muttered angrily, and hung up. She would probably date the guy anyway, but Alec could deal with that later, at the moment, he needed to focus on putting an Iraz on his bleeding stomach before he passed out. Bracing himself on the counter, he reached for his steelie, before remembering that it had snapped in half as some point in his fight with the demons. Alec cursed in frustration, stomping his foot childishly, and winced in pain at the sudden movement.

"I'm afraid that stomping your foot, however satisfying it might be, is not going to help your predicament," A smooth voice purred in his ear.

Alec tensed, "Bane" He hissed in displeasure. He had almost forgotten about the Warlock, Magnus Bane, who had been temporarily staying in the institute while he set up the wards. Izzy had taken to Magnus immediately while Jace bristled like an angry cat around him, taking every opportunity to pick a fight. Alec had tried to remain neutral towards Magnus, but he didn't like the way Magnus smirked and winked at him the first time they met. Or maybe he did like it, and that was the problem, Alec couldn't tell. He didn't like where his thoughts went around Magnus, and made a point to avoid Magnus whenever possible, and Magnus noticed.

"Antonio" Magnus replied, intentionally getting Alecs name wrong, "Could you please avoid bleeding out in the kitchen? It's rather unsanitary."

Alec glared at Magnus. "I wasn't trying to" He growled, but Magnus was right, bodily fluid did not belong in the kitchen. Alec took a step towards the doorway. Black spots danced across his vision and his knees gave way.

"Idiot" Magnus said catching Alec by the waist, before he could crash to the ground, "It was a joke. Your welcome to bleed out wherever you like, who am I to judge."

Alec froze, Magnus's fingers were like tendrils of fire on Alec's skin, sending jolts of electricity up Alec's spine. For a second, Alec leaned into the touch, wanting more, before realizing what he was doing. His face flushed with shame. "Don't touch me" he snapped, almost instinctively.

"To pure to be tainted by a dirty downworlder?" Magnus asked, immediately letting Alec go, and watching with a smirk as Alec fell to the ground with a very undignified yelp,

"That's not it" Alec protested, blinking away stars as he struggled to sit up,

Magnus raised a skeptical eyebrow, "Is that so?"

Alec blinked, a thick fog was entering his brain, making it difficult for him to follow one train of thought, "Uh-"

"I suppose I should heal you, your about two pints short. It's really amazing you're still conscious but-" Magnus sighed theatrically, "I might get blood on my coat, and this is one of my favorites."

Alec tried to see the coat Magnus was wearing but his eyes wouldn't focus and the world was rapidly blurring around him. "Is it green?" He asked, his words slurring slightly,

Magnus chuckled dropping to his knees beside Alec, "No darling, you're looking at the ceiling."

"Oh" Alec murmured letting his head fall backwards, his eyes fluttering shut,

Magnus said something that Alec didn't catch, everything around him sounded distant, as if Alec were underwater, but Alec tried to focus on the sound of Magnus's voice. Soft, smooth, with a slight lilting of the vowels, lulling him into a trance.

"Do you mind if I remove your sweater so I can work on the wound?" Magnus was asking,

The words slowly worked through Alec's muddled brain. His body stiffened, his eyes opening and widening with fear, when their meaning finally hit him. "Don't" Alec said quickly, "Please."

Magnus frowned slightly, but didn't question him, "Alright, but I'm going to need to pull up your shirt a little to get to the wound anyway."

Alec nodded, exhaling in relief, his body relaxing as Magnus's cool fingers went to work on the gash on his side.

* * *

"Rise and shine sleepy head!"

Alec wrenched his eyes open to see Isabelle standing above him, her arms crossed. His entire body was sore and his head was pounding,

"Do you want to explain why you're lying in a puddle of congealed blood in the middle of the kitchen?" She asked irritably,

Alec blinked, wincing at the volume of her voice, and looked around. She was right, he was sprawled, his limbs sticking out at odd angles in an alarmingly large puddle of blood. "I'll clean it up?"

Isabelle arced an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, "You better, and next time you bleed out, do it in your bedroom, the kitchen's just unsanitary,"

"I wasn't trying to" Alec grumbled, and sat up, ignoring his aching muscles cry's of protest and made his way to the sink where he promptly vomited.

"Your cleaning that too" Isabelle sung, "I'm going to Taki's with Simon- See you big brother." She kissed Alec on the cheek and disappeared.

Alec was on his knees, scraping dried blood off the floor, when Magnus wandered in. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a cherry popsicle, before glancing disdainfully at Alec.

"Oh" He drawled, "Your alive."

"Sorry to disappoint" Alec muttered,,

"Oh no, On the contrary, I'm quite glad your alive, Adam," and Alec's shoulders slumped, Magnus would never remember his name, "I put so much work into healing you."

"You healed me?" Alec tilted his head slightly,

"Of coarse Abraham,, you collapsed into my arms like the damsel in distress you are and I had to heal you, and ruin my coat in the process." Magnus smirked at the look of embarrassment on Alec's face.

"Wait," Alecs brow furrowed, "Didn't you drop me?"

"Only because you didn't feel comfortable being touched by me," Magnus waved his hand dismissively,

"Oh" Alec hung his head "I'm sorry,"

"It's alright," Magnus's voice was cold, "I'm used to it."

Alec wilted, pulling his sweater closer to his skin, an unconscious gesture, he wasn't sure where he had picked up,

"So, is that your security sweater?"

"What?" Alec blinked, marveling at how Magnus's tone had gone from icy to light and mocking,

"You seemed pretty attached to that sweater when I was healing you. You almost had an aneurysm when I asked if I could remove it. I was wondering why."

"Oh- uh" Alec's eyes darted around the room, as if searching for the nearest exit, "It's nothing,"

Magnus's eyes narrowed, but he just shrugged, "What ever Andrew." And with an unnecessary flourish, he closes the fridge and sashayed out of the room.


	2. Framed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec goes to a party, Jace gets framed, things happen.

Alec was not in his element as he wove between the mass of sweaty people, pulsing to the music.

"Come on" Izzy exclaimed, "How often do you get invited to a Warlocks party?"

Alec bit his lip, "I wasn't invited to the party you were. He doesn't like me. We lived in the same house for a week and he doesn't even remember my name." Alec tried to keep the defeat out of his voice when he said it, but he clearly failed.

"Awww, Alec" Isabelle put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "He pretends to forget everyone's name, it's really nothing personal."

Alec just shrugged,

"Trust me" Isabelle continued, unnecessarily, "The Lightwoods are known for their sexual charisma, Magnus will fall for you eventually"

Alec's eyes widened in shock, his face turning beet red, "This conversation is over." He sputtered, making a mental note to never talk to his sister when she was drunk.

"Sexual charisma? Are you guys talking about me?" Jace appeared at Isabelle's elbow, Clary was clinging to his arm, looking just as uncomfortable as Alec.

"No" Isabelle grinned, "Actually, I was talking about my dear brother,"

Jace frowned thoughtfully, his gaze raked Alec, and Alec had to hold back a shiver. It wasn't the same way he looked at Clary. It would never be. "Yeah, Alec's pretty sexy. I'm not gay, but if I were, I would probably do him. He would be better if he were blond though with gold eyes though."

Alec felt his heart stutter. He opened his mouth, and shut it, unsure what to say. Sometimes he thought Jace did this to him on purpose, making offhand comments or joke about Alec and him being in a relationship, just because he knew the effect it had on Alec.

At that moment, Magnus came over, holding two drinks, and handling one to Isabelle, "I am so glad you came," He glanced at Alec, "You too Abraham."

"That's not even close to Alec." Alec muttered unhappily,

"I'm very glad I came too, it seems unfair to deny a lovely party such a fine human specimen" Jace admitted, bashfully plucking the drink out of Isabelle's hand and draining it,

Alec snorted and Magnus's cat eyes narrowed at him, "Sorry" Alec mumbled, unsure what he was apologizing for, and hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Magnus didn't press the subject though and began talking to Isabelle about fashion. Alec tuned them out and watched with a growing pain in his stomach as Jace pulled Clary into a long deep kiss.

A man approached Alec with a glass of some colorful liquid that burst sparks, "You look like you could use this," He said with a dazzling grin. The man was very attractive in the square jaw chiseled sense, and if it weren't for his skin, which was a soft lilac, Alec would have assumed he was a model.

"It won't turn me into a rat, will it?" Alec asked as the drink changed from bright red to a deep green,

The man laughed, "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Glancing at Jace, who was still trying to suck Clary's tonsils out, and Isabelle, still engrossed in a conversation with Magnus, he felt a sudden stab of loneliness. Before he could talk himself out of it, he snatched the drink from the man's hands and brought it to his lips. There was a loud cracking sound, and before more than a few tablespoons of the liquid had entered his mouth, the cup burst in his hand, shards of glass flying everywhere, slicing open his skin

Alec gave a startled cry, and leapt backward, looking to the man, who had disappeared into the crowd.

"Alec!" Izzy exclaimed, head jerking toward him, "What was that?"

"Sorry, that was me." Magnus smiled looking completely unapologetic, "But trust me, you don't want that in your system"

"Why?"

"It's spiked with Viate, a plant that induces hallucination, pain, and sometimes death" Magnus replied, easily,

Alec swore softly,

Magnus looked at him sharply, "You didn't drink any, did you?"

"Not that much…" Alec stared at his shoes`, he struggled with eye contact on a good day, but with those cat eyes, scrutinizing every movement, Alec found it nearly impossible for his eyes to meet them. Magnus rolled his eyes and grabbed Alec's wrist, leading him towards his bedroom.

"Sit" He commanded, pointing at the canary colored bed, Alec nodded, and sat on the silk comforter, feeling guilty about the way it wrinkled around him. He scanned the room, it was an explosion of colors and glitter, the dresser was cluttered with makeup and seemingly random items, various paintings decorated the wall, and the carpet was a deep gold accented with red. The entire thing screamed Magnus.

"Don't worry" Magnus said, sitting beside him, "I might be a warlock, but don't keep I dead bodies in my room."

Alec turned his gaze to the floor, embarrassed. He wouldn't like it if someone had come into his room and started gawking at his possessions, why would Magnus be any different.

Magnus grabbed Alecs jaw and tilted it up, forcing Alec to make eye contact, their eyes met for a quarter of a second. Alec flushed, and immediately averted his eyes.

Magnus hissed in frustration, "I'm checking for pupil dilation, which is difficult seeing as you refuse to look at me."

Alec let his eyes rest on the bridge of Magnus's nose, as Magnus examined them. The warlock produced a flashlight from seeming mid-air and began shining it in Alec's eyes, watching the way they dilated and retracted.

"You pupils are dilated much further than they should be" He announced, "And they're not retracting in the light, suggesting that there's some of the poison left in the system. I can use my magic to scan your body for poison if you want."

Alec bit his lip, "I don't have any money…"

Magnus rolled his eyes, a gesture Alec was all too familiar with, "If you get poisoned at my party, social standards obligate me to heal you,"

Alec's brow furrowed slightly," How did you notice that the drink was spiked?"

"The plant has faint magical properties warlocks can sense if they pay attention."

"You were paying attention?" Alec blinked

Magnus ignored the question. "Using my magic to search your body for any signs of the poison is going to feel a little weird, are you okay with that?"

Alec looked nervous but nodded.

Magnus took Alec's wrist and turned it over, placing two fingers on his pulse point, and Alec gasped as Magnus sent magic through his body. It was as if every nerve ending in his body had been activated, he let out a breath, slouching forward, his eyes fluttering shut. If Alec were standing up, he was sure that he would have slid to the ground.

"I told you it would feel weird," Magnus said, smirking, as he let Alec's hand go,

Alec didn't reply and just gaped at Magnus,

"Anyway," Magnus continued, "You're fine, you might feel a little off the rest of the evening, but you'll be fine."

Alec relaxed, "Tha-"

He was interrupted by Isabelle, flung open the door, looking very pale, mascara and tears streaking her cheeks, "Alec- Come- It's Jace."

Alec barely noticed the dirty looks he earned as the shoved his way through the crowd of people, Isabelle leading the way.

"Look." She said miserably, pointing to Jace, who was talking to two shadow hunter's, an angry gleam in his eye. Alec stepped closer to here the conversation.

"I haven't been killing Mundanes" He insisted, crossing his arms, "The only crime I've committed is being this good looking."

The smaller shadow hunter's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, "Really? So it's just a coincidence that three Mundanes ended up dead in the area that you were patrolling, and witnesses say that they saw a boy your age covered in tattoos with a golden blade with all three victim's before their death?"

"Yes," Jace said stubbornly, "It could have been any Shadow Hunter my age, it was just a coincidence I was patrolling the area they died, the day they died, "

`"A coincidence that happened three times?"

Alec winced.

"What's going on?" Magnus said, his voice smooth as honey but his words laced with poison, and Alec jumped, he had almost forgotten about Magnus, "I don't remember inviting you."

The larger shadow hunter scowled, "We don't need an invitation warlock" he spat, "We're here on official Clave business, to issue the arrest of Jonathan Herondale, to be held in the Silent City until we can prove that he's innocent."

Magnus narrowed his eyes and didn't move, instead, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall.

"Can't I have trial by Mortal Sword?" Jace demanded, his voice was growing frantic. "I can't go back there." His voice came out a broken whisper. Jace had been kept in the Silent City once after finding out the truth about who had raised him, and Alec could see the terror in his eyes at the idea of going there again

"The Mortal Sword is needed in Idris. We're not going to use it on a petty issue such as this." The shadow hunter said curtly, pulling out a pair of handcuffs, and Alec thought he saw Magnus's eyes narrow even further.

Jace's mouth was a thin hard line."Kinkey, but not my style." Though his words were confident, his voice shook when he said it, and his eyes were wide and panicked.

"Wait." Alec said the world was beginning to spin around him, he could barely stand, but the words kept coming to him, as if someone were speaking for him, "I've been covering for Jace while he was on patrol for the past month. I was the Shadow Hunter in the area of the victim's death. If you're going to arrest anyone arrest me."

Jace opened his mouth to protest but Isabelle kicked him, shooting Alec a meaningful look. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Her eyes read.

Alec nodded resolutely.

"He's telling the truth." Isabelle picked up smoothly, "Jace wanted to spend time with Clary, so he asked Alec to patrol for him."

"We keep our own separate records of who parols when, that we don't show the Clave, if you want to see them" Alec challenged, praying that they wouldn't call his bluff.

"It's fine," The man said, in a voice that suggested that he didn't really care either way, as long as he got to make an arrest.

The women looked skeptical, but the man just shrugged and fitted the handcuffs around Alec's wrist, and fastening them with a click. Alec gasped in pain as he felt energy begin coursing through them, sending bursts of pain up his arm every time he moved.

"I don't see why this is necessary." Magnus interjected, placing a hand on Alec's shoulder, "The Silent City seems cruel for someone so young- I'd be happy to hold him until the Mortal Sword is available- like I did his parents."

Alec opened his mouth, "You kept my parents?"

"Yes Aaron," Magnus said, mock patience in his voice, "They stayed with me when you're parents were awaiting trial for planning an uprising to kill all Down Worlders. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but one I would be willing to repeat."

Alec opened his mouth and closed it, aware that he looked something like a fish struggling for air.

Magnus placed a hand on Alec's shoulder, "Why don't you go wait in my room while we work out the details. You look like you're going to pass out darling."


	3. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec stays with Magnus and conversations happen

Alec sat down on Magnus's bed, his heart pounding in his ears, exhaustion threatening to take over. He drew his knees to his chest, and buried his face in his hands, he didn't know how long he had sat there before he gave into exhaustion and let the world dissolve around him.

* * *

Magnus wasn't sure why he was letting the Shadowhunter stay in his loft instead of the Silent City. He had noticed how Alec had avoided him in the institute, treating him with the utmost formality, cringing away from his touch, an instinct which had probably learned from his parents. Not that Magnus wasn't used to it, but when he had first seen Alec, he had hoped that maybe he would be different.

Magnus sighed and running his hand through his hair, kicked the party-goers out of his loft, and trudged back to his bedroom. Alec was curled up in the middle of his bed, breathing heavily, asleep. It was clear from his position, that the boy had not intended to fall asleep. In sleep, Magnus couldn't sight help but notice how etheral Alec could look; his dark hair fanned across the canary-colored comforter, contrasting to his porcelain skin, thick lashes tangled together. No matter how angelic Alec looked, Magnus wasn't going to sleep on the couch for the sake of a Shadow Hunter, who he was already doing a favor, free of charge at that.

He shook Alec's arm and watched as his lashes fluttered open, revealing a beep blue, dark with sleep.

"Jace?" He murmured sleepily,

"No, Alexsander, it's Magnus,"

Alec gave Magnus a half-lidded smile, and Magnus realized with a jolt that it was the first time he had actually seen him smile, "You remembered my name. I thought you would never get it right. Not that I blame you- most people don't remember…" He trailed off, his eyes shutting.

Magnus felt a sudden stab of guilt, as he looked at Alec. He looked almost like an entirely different person in sleep, his whole body relaxed face peaceful, stark in contrast to his body when he was awake, which was taunt like a bowstring pulled too tight. "Don't fall back asleep just yet." He told Alec, shaking his shoulder again, with considerably more gentleness this time, and led him to the guest bedroom, watching as the Shadowhunter curled beneath the blankets.

As Magnus was leaving the bedroom, he heard a soft whimper. Alec was twisting in his sleep his face contorting into a frown. Magnus, who was no stranger to nightmares himself, sighed and walked back over to the bed, placing two fingers on Alec's forehead, blue sparks shooting from them. For a second it worked, the frown slid off his face, but as Magnus removed his fingers, the Shadowhunter's back arched and he screamed as if in pain, though his eyes remained closed. Magnus jumped back in alarm, he had used a simple spell to clear the nightmare, the same spell he used to use on himself every night; it had never had that effect on anyone before. He stared helplessly at Alec, who was now writhing, in his bed, hand clawing desperately at the sheets, screaming, a thin sheen of sweat coating his face.

"Alec," He said, "Alec wake up"

Alec began to thrash, his breathing had become ragged and short.

"Alexander!" He pleaded, "Wake up!"

Alec's blue eyes snapped open, his pupils dilated to the size of quarters, "Make them stop" He gasped, grabbing Magnus's wrist in an iron grip.

"The nightmares?" Magnus asked gently,

Alec said nothing, just shook his head frantically/

Magnus's hand brushed Alec's forehead, and his head began to loll, his body not seeming to reject the magic this time.  
* * *

Alec rubbed his eyes. He was sprawled in a pool of sunlight, which was unusual because for as long as he could remember, he had been up before the sun rised. From the other room, he could hear voices,

"Where is he?"

"Relax, I haven't killed your parbatia, he's sleeping."

"Alec never sleeps in."

"Well, last night must have been a little stressful, considering he was almost arrested on your account. In my ever so humble opinion, he deserves to sleep in."

"Wake him up. I need to talk to him."

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm going to refer back to my earlier statement about last night being stressful, and Alec deserving to sleep in. You can wait."

"Bane-"

Alec sat bolt upright in his bed. He knew that tone from countless hours spent trying to keep Jace out of trouble, it was the I'm Going to Do Something Extremely Stupid if I Don't Get My Way This Instant and Then My Poor Parbatia Will Have to Face the Consequences Because I'm Jace, and Far too Magnificent to Deal with Silly Things Like Waiting tone. Instincts developed from dealing with reckless idiots like Izzy and Jace kicked in, and Alec raced out of the bedroom.

Jace was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed, while Magnus was sprawled across the couch, his his shirt riding up, revealing a golden strip of flesh.

"I'm here Jace. What do you want?"

"A hot gay threesome." Jace replied, smirking as Alec flushed, "To check on you of coarse. What did you think?"

Magnus rolled his eyes, "As lovely as that shade of pink looks on Alexander, if you interrupted my morning routine just to make him blush, I'll turn you into a porcupine."

"Please don't" Alec pleaded, instinctively stepping in front of Jace. "You remembered my name," He said, with a feeling of deja-vu, that was overpowered by satisfaction. Then, reflexively, he added, "I prefer Alec."

Magnus looked at him, cat eyes like x-rays, "You don't mind being called Aaron, Abraham or Antonio, and yet you correct me when I call you Alexander?"

Alec opened his mouth, but it was Jace who spoke first, "His mom calls him Alexander whenever she's pissed, and that women put the fear of God into me- Being called Alexander probably brings bac horrible flashbacks."

Alec bit his lip. He was used to people speaking for him and was usually grateful for it, everything he said came out as unintelligent or rude, but he couldn't help but deflate slightly whenever it happened. Magnus's shrewd gaze gave Alec the impression that this didn't go unnoticed.

"Move." A familiar voice snapped, and Jace was shoved to the side, as Izzy pushed past Jace, and tackled Alec into a bear hug. She looked Alec up and down as if examining him for wounds.

Magnus sighed, "Do you have no faith in me! I promise I haven't hurt him!"

Izzy flashed him a brilliant smile, "We are very thankful that you let Alec stay with you- I don't know what we would have done if Alec were sent to the Silent City" She gave dramatic flourish with her hands, and something on her finger caught the light.

Magnus matched her smile, "My pleasure." Something flickered in his eyes, "That's a lovely ring you're wearing, may I ask where you got it?"

"This?" She asked, glancing at the sapphire-colored ring on her finger, "Some werewolf gave it to me last night."

Alec tensed, "By Angel, Izzy, if you're engaged-"

"I'm not engaged," Izzy said quickly, "I mean I like him but our relationship is more sexual,"

Alec choked "What?!"

"Darling, you're not helping your case at all." Magnus chuckled, then adding as an afterthought "And I would take off your ring immediately, it's infused with the same plant that was in Alec's drink."

Isabelle looked mildly alarmed, and slid off the ring, carefully setting it on the mantel next her, and Magnus made it disappear with a snap of his fingers.

"You'll be fine" He informed her, "Unless your a freak of nature and slept wearing that ring, in which case you deserve to die because only horrible people sleep with their jewelry on. I should probably make sure none of it's in your system anyways."

Isabelle laughed as if the idea of sleeping with a ring on was completely ludacris, and let Magnus lead her into his bedroom.  
* * *

"You're all good" Magnus announced, dropping Isabelle's wrist,

She stuck her tongue out in distaste, "That felt weird,"

"It usually does," Magnus said, remembering with some pleasure, of the way her brother had gasped when he had come in contact with the magic,. The right stimulation causing the right reaction. "Can I ask you something?"

"Depends"

Magnus met her eyes, "Last night, your brother seemed to be having nightmares-"

Isabelle's face darkened, "That's not uncommon when you grow up fighting demons and death is a very real possibility, nightmares are sort of to be expected."

"I know that," Magnus said "but when I tried to make them stop, his body rejected my magic- they weren't normal nightmares. I could sense that there was something darker involved."

Her eyes widened and she swore under her breath,

"If there's something I should know…" Magnus began, keeping his voice level,

"No, just promise me that you'll keep Alec safe." Her eyes were the size of silver dollars.

Magnus blinked, "I'll do my best."

Isabelle looked content with that answer, and as if the conversation had never happened, sprung up from the bed, and flounced out of the room.

"I think we have made a new record" Jace announce, as Izzy and Magnus returned "For the most attempted poisons and arrests made in a span of less than twenty four hours."

Izzy snorted "What kind of record is that?"

"Hey" Jace threw his hands up defensively, "If there's a record for the most apples crushed by a bicep, I don't see why there can't be a record for the most number of attempted arrests and poisons,"

"Jace does have a point," Alec said seriously, "It is odd that two different people tried to poison us with the same hallucinogenic, the same night Jace was accused of murdering mundanes, and my nightmares came back-" He broke off with a surreptitious glance at Magnus.

"Yes" Jace said solemnly, "My nightmares are back too, and they tend to be prophetic. Once I had a dream about Alec creating an army of cannibalistic ducks by feeding them poultry pie, and then the next day I was viciously attacked by a duck."

"Well," Isabelle tossed her hair. "Ducks do generally respond aggressively when people try to strangle their ducklings and scream 'fight me like a man.' That has less to do with prophetic nightmares and more to do with you being an idiot."

Magnus looked horrified, "You tried to strangle a duckling?"

"Moving on," Jace said, "Alec's not dead, so I consider my parbatai duties fulfilled, I have things to do, people to see, demons to kill, and mundane murders to investigate- Have fun with Magnus, don't do anything I would do!"

Isabelle gave Alec a meaningful look, "Call me if anything happens."

"Please leave now," Magnus said brightly, and showed the two Shadowhunters out of the loft.


	4. The Cient

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A client comes, the plot is furthered, Magnus does a kinda shitty thing, but not really.

Magnus checked his watch, and swore, it was already late morning, and he had a client in less than fifteen minutes. Having a Shadow Hunter roaming his loft would not be good for business, and locking him in the bedroom wouldn't do much seeing as most downworlders could sense shadowhunters. A hidden shadow hunter was almost worse than a visible one.

"How do you feel about becoming a coat rack?"

Alec looked taken aback, "A coat rack?"

"Yes" Magnus waved his hand impatiently, "Shadow Hunter's are bad for business, so how would you feel if I turned you into a coat rack?"

Alec stared at him.

"Coat racks don't scare customers," Magnus informed him helpfully,

Alec blinked, clearly not processing the information correctly, "Wouldn't I get splinters?"

Magnus considered this for a minute, "You're right. You're to pretty to be a coat rack anyways. Would you mind being temporarily turned into a statue?"

"No" Alec said, "I don't particularly want to become a statue."

Magnus crossed his arms, "Then how are you going to pay me?"

"Pay you?"

"Yes, you didn't think I was doing this for free, did you?"

Alec scowled, "Well that would have been nice information to have before I agreed to stay with you. How much do I even owe you?"

"For one night in my loft…" Magnus did several mental calculations, then named a sum that made Alec say something that would have made his mother stab him to death with an umbrella.

"H-how the hell do you expect me to pay that?" Alec sputtered,

"You can always work as a statue to repay your debt," Magnus suggested,

Alec looked dubious. "I'm not becoming a statue."

"Cough up the money and you don't have to."

Alec bit his lip, "Please don't make me." He pleaded, "I don't like the idea of being unable to move."

Magnus was taken aback by the sudden panic in his blue eyes, "Alright, I was joking-" He hadn't been joking, not really, the idea of a statue of someone as pretty as Alec was actually quite appealing, though, looking at the shadowhunter's panic, he figured it was best to withhold that information. "Just act like a statue."

Alec looked mildly puzzled. "You want me to stay really still?"

"You don't have to pretend to be a statue, just act non-threatening like one," Magnus said, "We can discuss your payment later."

Alec looked immensely grateful and nodded.

The doorbell rang, and Magnus snapped his fingers. His silk robe was immediately replaced by lemon yellow skinny jeans and a matching rhinestone-encrusted shirt. Magnus proudly reflected on the fact that he could pull off yellow, with most people it made their skin seem yellow as well, but Magnus was tanned just enough for yellow to bring out his golden complexion. He noticed with satisfaction that Alec was staring at him, his mouth opened slightly.

Dropping a glittery wink at Alec (he had also magicked on some glittery yellow eyeshadow), he buzzed the client in.

The client was a warlock with skin that was an alarming snow white, with onyx black hair and eyes.

"Magnus Bane?" He asked, in an oily voice, raking his eyes across Magnus's bright attire with thinly veiled judgment,

"The one and only. You must be Ciel. Please come in." Magnus replied with a toothy smile, leading the warlock inside, and gesturing for him to sit on the overstuffed couch. Ciel gave a mocking smile and strode over to the couch his eyes landing on Alec, who was sitting on the edge, his back board-straight.

"I didn't realize you had company." Ciel drawled, forked tongue running over his teeth. There was a delighted sort of a surprise in his voice.

Magnus noticed with alarm that Alec had gone several shades paler, his teeth clamped on his lower lip,

"Yes, he's staying with me for the time being. Ciel, meet Alexander Lightwood." Magnus said, sitting next to Alec. Something about the way Erik was looking at the boy made Magnus uneasy.

Ciel smiled at Alec, eyes glittering with a cool amusement, "Alexander Lightwood, how nice it is to meet you. Well, I trust?"

Alec was staring at the carpet, saying nothing.

Magnus frowned, "Do you two know each other?"

Ciel laughed, "I knew him, a while ago, though I can't he's changed much." He raked his eyes across Alec, "He's pretty packaging but-"

And then Alec was on his feet, lunging at the warlock. Body reacting before his mind could, he snapped his fingers, blue sparks flying from them. Alec froze mid-lunge, eyes wide and empty. A statue. The guilt was immediate and unexpected, but Magnus forced it down.

He turned to the warlock, "How do you know Alexander?"

"That, Magnus Bane, is none of your business."

"Than I don't want any of your business." Magnus crossed his arms, "Now please leave my loft."

Ciel laughed, as if at a joke only he understood, "It's probably best we don't do business together, it seems we would have-" He glanced deliberately at Alec, then moved to the door, "Conflicting interests."

Magnus tensed, "I said leave."

Ciel moved to the door, "Enjoy your pet shadowhunter." He called, before vanishing down the stairs.


	5. Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus and Alec bond, Isabelle and Alec fight

Alec gasped as he regained his ability to move, his eyes darting around the room. "What the hell happened?" He demanded.

Magnus began massaging his temples, not in the mood to deal with an indignant shadowhunter. "You looked like you were about to kill the warlock. For his safety, and your's, I temporarily froze you."

Alec blinked, hysteria evident in his eyes, "But you c-can't just freeze me-"  
"Alexander," Magnus began, barely keeping his exasperation at bay, but immediately feeling guilty at the way Alec had flinched with the usage of his full name. "Please calm down." He took Alec's hand, but Alec jerked so violently at the contact, he almost immediately with drew it.

"I asked you not to- but you did it anyway" Alec's voice was a dangerous mixture of hurt, hysteria and anger, and Magnus felt his heart throb at how raw the emotions sounded. He was used to shadowhunters and their indignant anger, but he had rarely come across a shadow hunter that was willing to look so vulnerable, in front of a downworlder no less. Though, judging by the way Alec's pupils were dilated and blood was running down his chin from where he was biting his lip, Alec didn't really have a choice in the matter.

What on earth could have possibly happened to make him react like that to a harmless spell?

"Alexander," Magnus said again, more gently this time, and he noticed the way Alec's fists clenched at Magnus's gentle tone. "I'm sorry for what I did, I should have never done anything like that without your permission, but you need to calm down."

Alec drew a shaky breath and raked his hand threw his hair. In that moment, Alec's blue eyes reminded Magnus of an ocean, growing from dark raging storms to calm and steady in a matter of minutes. "I just really don't like the idea of being unable to move- Especially around that warlock." Alec began picking at a stain in his jeans, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted like that."

Magnus blinked, "You're the one that's sorry?" He asked, looking disbelievingly at the shadowhunter. "Darling, I'm the one who used my magic on you to do something you explicitly asked me not to. I'm the one who's sorry."

Alec bit his lip again, causing more blood to stream down his chin, and land on his sweater.

"Don't do that," Magnus told Alec, reaching out to wipe the blood off his chin, with a handkerchief he had conjured out of nowhere.

Alec nodded, still looking shell shocked.

* * *

Alec let the hot water run down his skin, as steam filled the bathroom. He was not particularly dirty at the moment, but he liked to think of the horrible events of the day were rolling off his skin with the water. It was Magnus who suggested he take a shower, he had claimed the effects were therapeutic, and Alec agreed. The sound of the water hitting the tiled bathroom floor seemed to drown everything else out. It was pleasant, in a way.

Magnus must have thought he was childish, over-reacting to such a small thing, and Alec supposed he was. It had been years since It had happened, he probably should have gotten over himself by now. But as Alec dragged his hand over his torso, his fingers grazing the scarred area's, only noticeable due to their slight elevation, he wondered if getting over It would ever be possible.

Magnus had lent Alec a black t-shirt with Blink If You Want Me written across in sequence, and a pair of sweatpants to wear until Jace was able to stop by the loft and bring Alec a change of clothes. The sweat pants were slightly long on him, (which was surprising because Alec had ridiculously long legs) and they pooled around his feet, causing him to trip more than once. It was only mid-afternoon, and Alec had an entire half-day to kill. This was a rare problem amongst shadowhunters. There always seemed to be demons that needed slaying, or mysterious vampire deaths that needed investigating, so Alec had almost no free time, and the little of which he did, he usually dedicated to spending time with Izzy and Jace. Being unable to slay demons or spend time with his sister and parbatai left Alec at a complete loss of what to do.

Jace had texted him a report on the deaths of the three mundanes, which he had read over in less than fifteen minutes and come up with nothing helpful, so he discarded his phone, and began looking over Magnus's vast bookshelf. The library in the institute, while vast, had very little variety, most of the books being about shadowhunting, something which Alec already knew about. But Magnus's book self was almost as colorful as his loft, crumbling spellbooks were shoved between copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Harry Potter. Alec laughed, imagining what Jace's reaction would be to the lack of organization.

Magnus looked up from his book, which was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. "What's so funny, Alexander?"

Alec smiled to himself. Magnus had stopped intentionally forgetting Alec's name and had developed a habit of calling him by his full name. Alec usually hated being called by his full name, only his parents ever called him by his full name, and it soon became synonymous with disappointment, but there was something about the way Magnus said his full name that made it sound beautiful."You still there?" Magnus asked, smirking, bringing Alec back to reality, "You look deeply contemplative."

"Uh yeah, I was just thinking about how Jace would react to your unorganized bookshelf." Alec chose a book at random and hovered uncertainty over an armchair, "Can I sit here?"

Magnus, whose smile had dulled at the mention of Jace's name, waved his hand vaguely, "You don't have to ask. And Jace is the obnoxious blond who strangles ducklings right?"

Alec briefly wondered who else Jace could have been, but decided to let it go and just nodded, taking a seat in the armchair. He could feel Magnus's eyes on him as he flipped through the page not really absorbing the material. Normally, he would have shrunk away from Magnus's gaze, he never understood people like Jace who craved attention, but he found himself enjoying the fact that Magnus found him interesting enough to watch. Most people prefer to look at Jace or Isabelle, with their fierce beauty.

Eventually, the emotional exhaustion of earlier that day began to set in, and Alec felt his eyelids grow heavy, and flutter shut.

Jace glanced over Magnus's shoulder at Alec who appeared to be dozing in the armchair and smiled to himself.

"He will deny it," He told Magnus, "But he's just like his brother, Max- he can sleep anywhere, and he's always tired."

Magnus took the black duffle bag, containing Alec's clothes, from Jace and set it aside. "It's rather endearing." He mused, though he had to admit, almost everything the shadowhunter did was endearing in its own way.

Jace tensed, disliking the way Magnus was looking at his paberatai, like a cat. "If I found out you've hurt him in any way, warlock-."

Magnus looked unimpressed. "I'm not going to hurt Alec. Now that you've dropped off Alec's clothes, it would be simply lovely if you left, so I can get back to enjoying my day."

"Wait," Jace said, stepping out of the threshold and into the loft. His eyes had become softer, pleading almost. "Just be careful. Alec is-" He broke off  
"I will" Magnus nodded, pouring as much sincerity into his voice as possible, "Can I ask you something?"

"I'm straight" Jace said regretfully,

Magnus rolled his eyes, "I wasn't going to ask you out. I was wondering if Alec had a history of panic attacks."

Jace looked at him curiously. "He had one when he found Izzy's birth control pills."

"I'm serious."

"Fine," Jace heaved a sigh, "]Not really, one time we were wrestling and I pinned him down, and he sort of flipped out… He doesn't really like hand to hand combat."

Magnus nodded thoughtfully and he shut the door in the Shadow Hunter's face and returned to the couch. His eyes found their way to Alec, who was stirring in his chair. There was something interesting about the way Alec moved, how hesitant he was about everything. His hand would hover over an object before touching it, as if he were unsure if he were allowed, so different from the way most shadowhunters would act, as if they had a right to everything. Watching Alec doze was just as interesting, it was odd how different Alec was from when he was awake to when he was asleep.

"Alec," He said softly, "Wake up,"

Alec's eyes fluttered open, "Sorry" he murmured rubbing his eyes,

"For what?" Magnus asked, genuinely curious.

Alec shrugged,

"So, what do you want to eat?" Magnus asked, a glint in his eyes that made Alec think of Peter Pan.

Alec shrugged again, "Anything really, as long as Izzy didn't make it."

Magnus looked interested, "Your sister can't cook?"  
"Yeah, Izzy will hit you with her curling iron if you try to tell her that though, one time Jace tried to tell her and-" Alec broke off, Magnus was looking at him with an expression of deep interest- interest that Alec could assume was not directed at his sister's cooking. "What?"

Magnus blinked, "Nothing-" His expression changed from thoughtful to mischievous, "So, you're okay with ANY type of food, as long as your sister didn't make it"

Alec regarded Magnus wearily. "Within reason."

"So no snails?" Magnus asked, looking like a child who had been told Christmas had been canceled.

"Or rocky mountain oysters," Alec said, remembering the time Jace had tricked him into eating a whole plateful.

"You're no fun" Magnus sighed, and snapped his fingers.

Alec jumped as a large mahogany table appeared in front of him, with five types of fondue and various meats and bread on it. Magnus took a seat, in the chair that had also appeared with the table, and began eating.

Alec gaped. "Did you steal these?"

Magnus waved away the question. "So, do you like fondue? I knew someone from Sweden who looked just like you."

"Fondue is swiss, not swedish," Alec said, unable to control his older brother impulse to obnoxiously correct every incorrect fact.

"Sweden is the capital of Switzerland." Magnus informed him, dipping a piece of bread into a pot of melting cheese, "Don't you want to know more about this mysterious person I knew?"  
Alex nodded uncertainty, and Magnus began telling a long rambling story that Alec couldn't quite follow involving a hot air balloon and Marie Antoinette.

"So" Magnus said when he had finished, "What about you?"

Alec tilted his head slightly, praying that Magnus wasn't inquiring as to whether he had ravished a queen on a hot air balloon.

"Has anything interesting ever happened to you?" Magnus clarified,

Alec frowned, he had never been particularly good at telling stories, it was usually Izzy who told the antidotes. He thought about the most interesting experiences in his life. Most of them starred Jace, but it was clear Magnus didn't like Jace, so he conjured up the only thing that involved him he could think of. "One time I was almost attacked by a greater demon."

Magnus nodded and looked as if he expected Alec to continue.

"I almost died." Alec ended lamely

"... Alright…"

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Uh-" Alec was feeling desperate. He didn't know why, but he felt a need to impress Magnus, "When I was thirteen I got drunk off of a bottle of vodka and I was sick the next few days." He had been hoping to tell a funny story to amuse Magnus, Jace always told hilarious stories about his drunken escapades. He waited for Magnus to laugh or show some sign of amusement, but was greeted by silence. "It was funny because the reason I got drunk was because my dad was yelling at me for missing training, and then because I got a horrible hangover, I had to miss even more training and I got yelled at twice as much." Alec found himself saying.

"Alexander" Magnus looked horrified, "You just told me that at age thirteen your father drove you to alcoholism. How is that even remotely funny?"

Alec shrugged helplessly. "I'm not good at this."

Magnus sighed, "You're doing just fine."

Alec bit his lip. He was worried that if he said any more, he would accidentally tell Magnus about It, and if he told Magnus about It, he would have to tell Magnus about his condition, and if he told Magnus about his condition, Magnus would be repulsed. He couldn't tell anyone. Not even Jace.

"Alec?" Magnus's voice was tentative, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah" Alec nodded, tracing the veins of the wood on the table with his fingers, "I'm fine."

Magnus looked doubtful but said nothing. The rest of the dinner past in pleasant conversation. Alec found that Magnus was easier to talk to than most people, and conversation flowed naturally between them.

After dinner, Magnus forced Alec to watch some T.V. with him, though he was beginning to wish that he hadn't. It wasn't that Alec was annoying while watching T.V., he was completely silent, in fact, it was more that Magnus found himself watching Alec more than he was the television, who was curled up at the end of the couch, his eyes fixed on the screen, expression changing as the movie continued.

Half way through the movie, as Magnus was beginning to slip into the threshold of consciousness, the doorbell rang. At the door, was a very disgruntled looking Isabelle Lightwood. She pushed Magnus aside, and ran to her brother.

"I think I know who was killing the Mundanes," She told him, breathlessly, as if she had run all the way to the loft, "There were puncture marks in their skin."

Alec's body went rigid, "You don't think it could be…"`

Isabelle nodded darkly, "Alec" She began, catching his hand, and intertwining their fingers, "You'll be fine."

"I thought they were gone." Alec protested sounding desperate, "or that they had at least disband."

Isabelle shrugged helplessly, "You know, he didn't die and lot of other members survived."

"Who's not dead?" Magnus asked, and he noticed how Alec seemed to fold in on himself at the question.

"But I'm safe, right?" Alec asked his sister, his voice quivering, "So far, he's only attacked mundanes-"

"The warlock that tried to drug you the other day, and the werewolf the gave me the ring" Isabelle interrupted, her voice careful, "They also ended up dead-"

Alec pale, and pulled away from his sister's grasp. "It's not a coincidence?" He asked, defeatedly.

"I think you should tell Jace."

Alec's eyes flashed, "Tell Jace what?"

"You know what."

"No, I don't. Do you have anything else to tell me?"

Isabelle shook her head.

"Good," Alec said coldly. "Then would you mind leaving?"

"Fine" Isabelle sighed, and walked to the door, with a sad look at her brother.

Magnus caught her eye and he was reminded of the promise he had made earlier that day, to keep Alec safe. He wondered how, in just a day, he had become so involved in a shadowhunter he had previously disliked.

Alec stalked back to the couch and began staring blankly at the television. Magnus sat next to him and tentatively wrapped his arm around Alec's shoulder. To his surprise, the shadowhunter leaned into his warmth, his head resting on Magnus's shoulder, in an uncharacteristically vulnerable way.

Magnus replayed Alec and Isabelle's conversation in his head, trying to make sense of it

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this a year ago on fanfiction.net, but never finished it. I figured I'd try to give it a fresh chance.  
> Also, I am a praise junkie, so please feel free to feed my addiction.


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